Patent Application
20240100832
The disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-151247 filed on Sep. 22, 2022 including specification, drawings and claims is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
The present invention relates to a technique of supplying a cleaning liquid to a cap member that performs capping of abutting on a printing head that ejects ink from an ink nozzle while facing the ink nozzle and to a cleaning member that cleans the cap member by coming into contact with the cap member.
In a printer that performs printing using a printing head that ejects ink from an ink nozzle, a cap member for capping the ink nozzle is used for maintenance of the printing head. As the cap member is contaminated with the ink, the cap member is required to be cleaned appropriately. As described in JP2020-168798 and JP2015-217593, a cleaning liquid is usable for cleaning the cap member. According to JP2020-168798, for example, a cleaning liquid is fed from a cleaning liquid tank to a liquid storage recess of a cap member and the liquid storage recess of the cap member is cleaned with the fed cleaning liquid. According to JP2015-217593, a cap member is cleaned using a cleaning roller. More specifically, a cleaning liquid is dripped on a cap sheet placed in the cap member and the cap sheet is pressed with the rotating cleaning roller. By doing so, the interior and upper surface of the cap member are cleaned by the cleaning roller with the cleaning liquid adhering to the cleaning roller.
In performing cleaning with a cleaning liquid adhering to a cleaning member such as a cleaning roller, it is preferable to supply a clean cleaning liquid to the cleaning member. According to the method described in JP2015-217593, however, the cleaning liquid is supplied to the cleaning member (cleaning roller) through the cap sheet. Hence, the cleaning liquid to be supplied to the cleaning member is to contain ink, etc. leaking out from the cap sheet. In this regard, a technique allowing a clean cleaning liquid to be supplied to each of a cap member and a cleaning member has been desired.
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problem, and is intended to allow a clean cleaning liquid to be supplied to each of a cap member and a cleaning member.
According to the present invention, a printer comprises: a printing head that ejects ink from an ink nozzle; a cap member that performs capping of abutting on the printing head while the cap member faces the ink nozzle; a cleaning member that cleans the cap member by coming into contact with the cap member; and a cleaning liquid ejection unit that ejects a cleaning liquid to an ejection target that is one of the cleaning member and the cap member, wherein the cleaning liquid ejection unit is configured to switch the ejection target between the cap member and the cleaning member and eject the cleaning liquid to the ejection target.
According to the present invention, a cleaning liquid supply method of supplying a cleaning liquid to a cap member and a cleaning member, the cap member performing capping of abutting on a printing head that ejects ink from an ink nozzle while the cap member faces the ink nozzle, the cleaning member cleaning the cap member by coming into contact with the cap member, the method comprising the steps of: ejecting the cleaning liquid to an ejection target that is one of the cleaning member and the cap member from a cleaning liquid ejection unit that ejects the cleaning liquid to the ejection target; and switching the ejection target between the cap member and the cleaning member.
According to the present invention (printer, cleaning liquid supply method) having the above-described configurations, the cleaning liquid ejection unit ejects the cleaning liquid to the ejection target that is one of the cleaning member and the cap member. In particular, the cleaning liquid ejection unit switches the ejection target between the cap member and the cleaning member and ejects the cleaning liquid to the ejection target. Specifically, if the cap member is set as the ejection target, the cleaning liquid is ejected from the cleaning liquid ejection unit directly to the cap member as the ejection target. If the cleaning member is set as the ejection target, the cleaning liquid is ejected from the cleaning liquid ejection unit directly to the cleaning member as the ejection target. Here, ejecting the cleaning liquid from the cleaning liquid ejection unit directly to the ejection target means that the cleaning liquid ejected from the cleaning liquid ejection unit reaches the ejection target without passing through a member different from the ejection target. In this way, according to the present invention, it is possible to supply the clean cleaning liquid to each of the cap member and the cleaning member.
As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to supply the clean cleaning liquid to each of the cap member and the cleaning member.
The above and further objects and novel features of the invention will more fully appear from the following detailed description when the same is read in connection with the accompanying drawing. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawing is for purpose of illustration only and is not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention.
The printer 1 includes a transfer part 2 that transfers the web W. The transfer part 2 includes a feed roller 21 and a wind-up roller 22. The web W is transferred in a roll-to-roll process by winding the web W fed from the feed roller 21 on the wind-up roller 22. The transfer part 2 includes a take-in part 23 provided between the feed roller 21 and the wind-up roller 22 for taking in the web W fed from the feed roller 21. The take-in part 23 includes two drive rollers 231, two nip rollers 232, and an edge position adjuster 234 provided between the two drive rollers 231. Each of the drive rollers 231 drives the web W by rotating in response to driving force of a motor with the web W wound around the drive roller 231. The two nip rollers 232 are provided corresponding to two drive rollers 231 respectively. Each of the nip rollers 232 holds the web W between the nip roller 232 and the corresponding drive roller 231. The edge position adjuster 234 adjusts the position of an edge of the web W in the X direction corresponding to the width direction of the web W.
The transfer part 2 further includes a plurality of support rollers 24 on which the web W is supported between the take-in part 23 and the wind-up roller 22. The support rollers 24 transfers the web W in the Y direction while supporting the web W from below to which ink is ejected by the inkjet method. In particular, the support rollers 24 are arranged at a tilt in such a manner that the support roller 24 located further downstream of a transfer direction of the web W (Y direction) is placed at a higher position. For this reason, when the web W is transferred by these support rollers 24, the web W is at a tilt during the transfer in such a manner as to rise as the web W goes further toward the Y direction.
The transfer part 2 further includes a plurality of support rollers 25 on which the web W is supported between the support rollers 24 and the wind-up roller 22, and a dryer 26 arranged between the support rollers 25 and the wind-up roller 22. The dryer 26 includes a heat drum 261, and a support roller 262 on which the web W moving from the heat drum 261 toward the wind-up roller 22 is supported. The heat drum 261 is driven to rotate in response to transfer of the web W, and dries the web W by heating the web W using a built-in heater. The transfer part 2 further includes a plurality of support rollers 27 on which the web W moving from the dryer 26 toward the wind-up roller 22 is supported. The transfer part 2 further includes a drive roller 281 and a nip roller 282 arranged between the support rollers 27 and the wind-up roller 22. The drive roller 281 drives the web W by rotating in response to driving force of a motor with the web W wound around the drive roller 281. The nip roller 282 holds the web W between the nip roller 282 and the drive roller 281.
As described above, the transfer part 2 forms a transfer route of the web W by combining a plurality of rollers and transfers the web W along the transfer route. While a major part of the transfer route is formed in internal space SP inside the housing 100, the transfer route may partially be formed outside the housing 100 in a part corresponding to at least one of the feed roller 21 and the wind-up roller 22. This makes it possible to mount and remove the roll-like web W on and from the feed roller 21 and the wind-up roller 22 with increased workability.
The printer 1 includes a plurality of head units 3 facing the web W from above supported on the support rollers 24 inside the housing 100. As will be described later in detail, each of the head units 3 includes a printing head 30 that ejects ink downward from an ejection port (nozzle) provided at the bottom to make the ink adhere to the web W transferred below the printing head 30. As an example, by causing the printing heads 30 provided at the respective head units 3 to eject inks of different colors, color printing is realized. In this example, six head units 3 are arranged along the transfer route. However, the number of the head units 3 to be provided is not limited to this but can be determined freely. A combination of ink types to be ejected from the respective printing heads 30 can also be determined freely.
As shown in
A maintenance part 50 is provided to each of the head units 3 in such a manner as to cover a lower part of the printing head 30, as will be described next. The maintenance part plays the role of keeping the nozzle Z of the printing head 30 clean and preventing clogging at the nozzle Z, and maintaining the printing head 30 in a state ready to be available for printing operation promptly in response to need. As shown in
The maintenance part 50 includes a base member 51 having a rectangular solid shape extending long in the X direction. A tray 52 and a tray 57 each having a box shape with an opening top are mounted on the base member 51 in order to receive ink ejected from the printing head 30 or various types of processing liquids. The tray 52 and the tray 57 are arranged in the X direction. The larger tray 52 is arranged toward the (+X) direction relative to the smaller tray 57.
The tray 52 includes a bottom plate 521 having a rectangular shape in a plan view, and a side wall 522 standing upright from a peripheral part of the bottom plate 521. The side wall 522 is a frame body having a rectangular shape in a plan view. An elastic member 523 is mounted on an entire periphery of an upper end of the side wall 522. In this way, a reservoir chamber 524 opening upward surrounded by the bottom plate 521 and the side wall 522 is formed at the tray 52. A plurality of caps 53 are arranged at the bottom plate 521 of the tray 52. The plurality of caps 53 are arranged corresponding to the plurality of nozzle blocks 31 of the printing head 30 respectively and are arranged in a staggered pattern in the X direction. The cap 53 includes a cap body 531 formed into a box shape conforming to an outer shape of the nozzle block 31. The cap body 531 includes a reservoir chamber 531a having an opening that opens upward (toward the nozzle block 31). The cap 53 further includes a seal member 532 surrounding the opening of the reservoir chamber 531a. The seal member 532 is a member formed into a rectangular ring shape in outline and made of rubber, for example. The maintenance part 50 includes an elastic member 56 provided corresponding to each of the caps 53. The elastic member 56 biases the corresponding cap 53 upward relative to the bottom plate 521 of the tray 52. The elastic member 56 is a compression spring, for example.
As will be described later by referring to
As shown in
The ink or cleaning liquid Q ejected into the cap 53 is discharged through a discharge mechanism not shown in the drawings. Such a mechanism and the purge process realized by this mechanism can be carried out, preferably by applying the contents described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2022-052195 disclosed previously by the present applicant, for example. For this reason, descriptions of the mechanism and the purge process mentioned herein are omitted. In the state of
The tray 57 includes a bottom plate 571 having a rectangular shape in a plan view, and a side wall 572 standing upright from a peripheral part of the bottom plate 571. The side wall 572 is a frame body having a rectangular shape in a plan view. In this way, a reservoir chamber 573 opening upward surrounded by the bottom plate 571 and the side wall 572 is formed at the tray 57. Two up-down mechanisms 58 arranged in the Y direction are placed on the bottom plate 571 of the tray 57. Furthermore, two wiper blades 59 are provided corresponding to the two up-down mechanisms 58. Each of the up-down mechanisms 58 moves the corresponding wiper blade 59 in the Z direction. The two wiper blades 59 are provided corresponding to the two nozzle block lines C1 and C2. Each wiper blade 59 performs wiping on the nozzle blocks 31 forming a corresponding nozzle block line of the nozzle block lines C1 and C2.
Ways of performing the wiping are common between the two wiper blades 59. For this reason, the description given herein by referring to
The configuration of the head unit 3 will be described in more detail by referring to
As shown in
Two lateral bridge members 72 (72a, 72b) are arranged toward the (−X) direction at the frame members 71 in such a manner as to be separated from each other in the X direction with a predetermined interval therebetween. This interval is greater than the length of the printing head 30 in the X direction. The lateral bridge members 72a and 72b have respective upper surfaces where head support side plates 73, 73 are mounted for supporting the printing head 30 in a manner allowing the printing head 30 to move up and down.
More specifically, as shown in
As shown in
Thus, as shown in
At the head unit 3 having the above-described configuration, the position of the printing head 30 in the Z direction (namely, the height thereof) can be changed by the motor 742. Specifically, the printing head 30 moves in the Z direction between a retreat height He where the printing head 30 has retreated upward from the range of movement of the maintenance part 50 (
The head unit 3 will be described continuously by referring back to
The head unit 3 is further provided with a cleaning part 80 arranged toward the (+X) direction relative to the printing head 30. As will be described later, the cleaning part 80 is provided for the purpose of clearing the cap 53 and the wiper blade 59 provided at the maintenance part 50 to remove residual ink adhering to the cap 53 and the wiper blade 59.
The cleaning roller 81 includes a surface layer 811 on its outer peripheral surface. The surface layer 811 is sponge as a porous member, and has liquid retaining property of retaining liquid and elasticity. More specifically, the cleaning roller 81 includes a core 812 made of metal having a cylindrical shape parallel to the Y direction, and the cylindrical surface layer 811 is arranged around the core 812. A rotary shaft 813 is provided coaxially with the center of the core 812, and the rotary shaft 813 has opposite ends rotatably supported by bearing members 82, 82 in a pair. The bearing members 82 are fixed to either the frame member 71 or a member coupled integrally to the frame member 71. In the illustration shown in
The cleaning liquid supply mechanism 9 includes a cleaning liquid reservoir part 91, a liquid feeder 92 that feeds the cleaning liquid Q sucked from the cleaning liquid reservoir part 91, and a cleaning liquid ejector 93 that ejects the cleaning liquid Q having been fed from the cleaning liquid reservoir part 91 by the liquid feeder 92. The cleaning liquid reservoir part 91 includes a reservoir tank 911 arranged toward the (−X) direction relative to the head support side plates 73, 73 in a pair. The cleaning liquid Q is stored in the reservoir tank 911.
The liquid feeder 92 includes a liquid feed pipe 921 extended from a position toward the (−X) direction to a position toward the (+X) direction relative to the head support side plates 73, 73 in a pair. A suction port 922 opens at one end of the liquid feed pipe 921 arranged toward the (−X) direction relative to the head support side plates 73, 73 in a pair. This one end of the liquid feed pipe 921 is inserted in the reservoir tank 911, and the suction port 922 of the liquid feed pipe 921 opens in the cleaning liquid Q stored in the reservoir tank 911. A discharge port 923 opens at the other end of the liquid feed pipe 921 arranged toward the (+X) direction relative to the head support side plates 73, 73 in a pair. The liquid feeder 92 further includes a liquid feed pump 924 mounted on the liquid feed pipe 921. The liquid feed pump 924 drives the cleaning liquid Q in the liquid feed pipe 921 from the suction port 922 toward the discharge port 923. Thus, when the liquid feed pump 924 drives the cleaning liquid Q, the cleaning liquid Q stored in the reservoir tank 911 is sucked from the suction port 922 into the liquid feed pipe 921 and fed to the discharge port 923 through the liquid feed pipe 921.
The cleaning liquid ejector 93 is arranged toward the (+X) direction relative to the head support side plates 73, 73 in a pair. The cleaning liquid ejector 93 includes a solenoid valve 94 mounted on the discharge port 923 of the liquid feed pipe 921. The solenoid valve 94 includes an inflow port 940, a first output port 941, and a second output port 942 (
The cleaning liquid ejector 93 includes a pipe 931 having one end connected to the first output port 941 of the solenoid valve 94, and a pipe 932 having one end connected to the second output port 942 of the solenoid valve 94. The cleaning liquid ejector 93 further includes a cleaning liquid nozzle 951 connected to the other end of the pipe 931, and a cleaning liquid nozzle 952 connected to the other end of the pipe 932. The cleaning liquid nozzle 951 faces a first position L1 from above where the cleaning roller 81 is located. The cleaning liquid nozzle 952 faces a second position L2 from above arranged toward the (+X) direction relative to the first position L1.
As shown in
In the cleaning liquid supply mechanism 9 described above, when the solenoid valve 94 performs the first flow path connecting operation while the liquid feed pump 924 drives the cleaning liquid Q, the cleaning liquid Q is ejected from the cleaning liquid nozzle 951 toward the first position L1 (first ejecting operation in
At the start of the cleaning operation in
In step S101, the ejection destination switching controller 14 sets a destination of ejection of the cleaning liquid Q at the first position L1 by causing the solenoid valve 94 to perform the first flow path connecting operation. In step S102, the pump controller 13 starts the liquid feed pump 924. By doing so, the cleaning liquid Q having been fed by the liquid feed pump 924 from the reservoir tank 911 to the cleaning liquid ejector 93 is ejected from the cleaning liquid nozzle 951 to the cleaning roller 81 at the first position L1 (
In step S105, the motor controller 11 causes the motor 753 to start movement of the maintenance part 50 from the maintenance position Lm to the retreat position Le. Along with start of the movement of the maintenance part 50 in step S105, the surface layer 811 of the cleaning roller 81 comes into contact with the seal member 532 of the cap 53 moving in the X direction (
Along with start of the movement of the maintenance part 50 in step S105, wiping is also performed by which the upper end of the wiper blade 59 is caused to slide on the nozzle opening plane 31P in the X direction (
In step S106, the ejection destination switching controller 14 sets a destination of ejection of the cleaning liquid Q at the second position L2 by causing the solenoid valve 94 to perform the second flow path connecting operation. Then, in step S107, it is determined whether the maintenance part 50 has reached the second position L2. In this example, it is determined whether the inside of the tray 52 of the maintenance part 50 (more specifically, the bottom plate 521 of the tray 52) has reached the second position L2. When the inside of the tray 52 reaches the second position L2 (“YES” in step S107), the pump controller 13 starts the liquid feed pump 924 (step S108).
By doing so, the cleaning liquid Q having been fed by the liquid feed pump 924 from the reservoir tank 911 to the cleaning liquid ejector 93 is ejected from the cleaning liquid nozzle 952 to the bottom plate 521 of the tray 52 passing through the second position L2 (
Along with the movement of the maintenance part 50 from the maintenance position Lm toward the retreat position Le, the plurality of caps 53 at the bottom plate 521 of the tray 52 pass through the second position L2 sequentially. In response to this, the cleaning liquid Q from the cleaning liquid nozzle 952 is ejected to the caps 53 passing through the second position L2 (
When the maintenance part 50 reaches the retreat position Le (“YES” in step S109), the motor controller 11 causes the motor 753 to stop the maintenance part 50 (step S110). In this way, along with the movement of the maintenance part 50 from steps S105 to S110, the cleaning liquid Q is supplied to the cap 53 and the tray 52. Wiping is also performed along with this movement of the maintenance part 50. Specifically, the upper end of the wiper blade 59 is caused to slide on the respective nozzle opening planes 31P of the plurality of nozzle blocks 31 sequentially, thereby wiping away the ink adhering to each of the nozzle opening planes 31P by the wiper blade 59 and collected in the tray 57 (wiping). As shown in
In step S111, the ejection destination switching controller 14 sets a destination of ejection of the cleaning liquid Q at the first position L1 by causing the solenoid valve 94 to perform the first flow path connecting operation. By doing so, the cleaning liquid Q having been fed by the liquid feed pump 924 from the reservoir tank 911 to the cleaning liquid ejector 93 is ejected from the cleaning liquid nozzle 951 to the cleaning roller 81 at the first position L1 (
In step S112, the up-down mechanism controller 12 causes the wiper blade 59 to slide on the surface layer 811 of the cleaning roller 81 by causing the up-down mechanism 58 to move the wiper blade 59 up and down (wiper cleaning). During this wiper cleaning, the upper end of the wiper blade 59 moves up and down within the roller contact range R81 while contacting the cleaning roller 81. After passage of a predetermined wiper cleaning period (“YES” in step S113), the up-down mechanism controller 12 causes the up-down mechanism 58 to stop the upward and downward movement of the wiper blade 59 (step S114) and the pump controller 13 causes the liquid feed pump 924 to stop feeding of the cleaning liquid Q (step S115).
When the cleaning operation in
According to the embodiment having the above-described configuration, the cleaning liquid supply mechanism 9 (cleaning liquid ejection unit) ejects the cleaning liquid Q to an ejection target that is one of the cleaning roller 81 (cleaning member) and the cap 53 (cap member). In particular, the cleaning liquid supply mechanism 9 switches the ejection target between the cap 53 and the cleaning roller 81 and ejects the cleaning liquid Q to the ejection target (first ejecting operation/second ejecting operation). Specifically, if the cap 53 is set as the ejection target, the cleaning liquid Q is ejected from the cleaning liquid supply mechanism 9 directly to the cap 53 as the ejection target (
The motor 753 (driving part) is provided that moves the cap 53 (maintenance part 50) in the X direction (movement direction) relative to the cleaning roller 81 by driving the cap 53. The cap 53 is cleaned by bringing the cleaning roller 81 to which the cleaning liquid Q ejected from the cleaning liquid supply mechanism 9 into contact with the cap 53 that is moved in the X direction by the motor 753. In this configuration, it is possible to clean the cap 53 by the cleaning roller 81 to which the clean cleaning liquid Q ejected.
The cleaning liquid supply mechanism 9 selects a destination of ejection of the cleaning liquid Q from the first position L1 where the cleaning roller 81 is located and the second position L2 different from the first position L1 in the X direction (
The cleaning liquid supply mechanism 9 includes the liquid feed pipe 921 feeding the cleaning liquid Q, the solenoid valve 94 connected to the liquid feed pipe 921, the cleaning liquid nozzle 951 (first cleaning liquid nozzle) connected to the solenoid valve 94, and the cleaning liquid nozzle 952 (second cleaning liquid nozzle) connected to the solenoid valve 94. The cleaning liquid nozzle 951 faces the first position L1. The cleaning liquid nozzle 952 faces the second position L2. Meanwhile, the solenoid valve 94 is configured to perform the first flow path connecting operation and the second flow path connecting operation selectively (
The cleaning roller 81 is driven to rotate by the movement of the cap 53 in the X direction. In this configuration, it is possible to clean the cap 53 by the cleaning roller 81 to which the clean cleaning liquid Q ejected.
The cleaning roller 81 includes the surface layer 811 (sponge, liquid retaining member) that retains the cleaning liquid Q by absorbing the cleaning liquid Q. The surface layer 811 cleans the cap 53 by coming into contact with the cap 53. In this configuration, it is possible to clean the cap 53 with the clean cleaning liquid Q retained in the surface layer 811 of the cleaning roller 81.
The cap 53 includes the reservoir chamber 531a (reservoir) having an opening that opens toward the printing head 30, and the seal member 532 (peripheral part) provided around the opening of the reservoir chamber 531a. During implementation of the capping, while the opening of the reservoir chamber 531a faces the nozzle N (ink nozzle), the seal member 532 abuts on the printing head 30 (
The cap 53 performs the capping while the cleaning liquid Q ejected from the cleaning liquid supply mechanism 9 is pooled in the reservoir chamber 531a (
The cap 53 receives ink, ejected from the nozzle N of the printing head 30 through a purge process, by the reservoir chamber 531a pooling the cleaning liquid Q ejected from the cleaning liquid supply mechanism 9. In this configuration, it is possible to suppress the reservoir chamber 531a of the cap 53 from contamination caused by ink adhering to a wall surface of the reservoir chamber 531a after ejected from the nozzle N.
The wiper blade 59 (wiper) and the motor 753 (wiper slide driving part) are provided. The wiper blade 59 wipes away ink from the printing head 30. The motor 753 causes the wiper blade 59 to slide on the printing head 30 by driving the wiper blade 59 (maintenance part 50). Meanwhile, the cleaning liquid supply mechanism 9 ejects the cleaning liquid Q to the cleaning roller 81 while the motor 753 causes the wiper blade 59 to contact the cleaning roller 81 (specifically, causes the maintenance part 50 to locate at the retreat position Le). The cleaning liquid Q ejected to the cleaning roller 81 reaches the wiper blade 59 through the cleaning roller 81 (
The tray 52 is provided that includes the bottom plate 521 on which the caps 53 are arranged. The cleaning liquid Q is ejected to the bottom plate 521 of the tray 52 by ejecting the cleaning liquid Q to the second position L2 with the cleaning liquid supply mechanism 9 while the motor 753 locates the bottom plate 521 of the tray 52 at the second position L2 (
As described above, in the present embodiment, the printer 1 corresponds to an example of a “printer” of the present invention, the printing head 30 corresponds to an example of a “printing head” of the present invention, the tray 52 corresponds to an example of a “tray” of the present invention, the bottom plate 521 corresponds to an example of a “bottom surface” of the present invention, the cap 53 corresponds to an example of a “cap member” of the present invention, the reservoir chamber 531a corresponds to an example of a “reservoir” of the present invention, the seal member 532 corresponds to an example of a “peripheral part” of the present invention, the wiper blade 59 corresponds to an example of a “wiper” of the present invention, the motor 753 corresponds to an example of a “driving part” of the present invention, the motor 753 corresponds to an example of a “wiper slide driving part” of the present invention, the cleaning roller 81 corresponds to an example of a “cleaning roller” of the present invention, the cleaning roller 81 corresponds to an example of a “cleaning member” of the present invention, the surface layer 811 corresponds to an example of a “liquid retaining member” of the present invention, the cleaning liquid supply mechanism 9 corresponds to an example of a “cleaning liquid ejection unit” of the present invention, the liquid feed pipe 921 corresponds to an example of a “liquid feed pipe” of the present invention, the solenoid valve 94 corresponds to an example of a “solenoid valve” of the present invention, the cleaning liquid nozzle 951 corresponds to an example of a “first cleaning liquid nozzle” of the present invention, the cleaning liquid nozzle 952 corresponds to an example of a “second cleaning liquid nozzle” of the present invention, the first position L1 corresponds to an example of a “first position” of the present invention, the second position L2 corresponds to an example of a “second position” of the present invention, the nozzle N corresponds to an example of an “ink nozzle” of the present invention, the cleaning liquid Q corresponds to an example of a “cleaning liquid” of the present invention, and the X direction corresponds to an example of a “movement direction” of the present invention.
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment but various changes other than the matter described above can be made within a range not deviating from the purport of the invention. For example, the configuration of the cleaning liquid ejector 93 that changes a destination of ejection of the cleaning liquid Q between the first position L1 and the second position L2 is not limited to the example using the solenoid valve 94 shown in
The cleaning liquid nozzle 951 is supported rotatably in a rotary direction about a rotary axis parallel to the Y direction. Meanwhile, the cleaning liquid ejector 93 includes a nozzle driving part 96 that drives the cleaning liquid nozzle 951 in the rotary direction. The nozzle driving part 96 includes an actuator 961, and a rod 962 that is driven in the X direction by the actuator 961. The cleaning liquid nozzle 951 has a peripheral surface where an engagement long hole 951b is provided. A tip of the rod 962 is engaged in the engagement long hole 951b. Thus, the nozzle driving part 96 is configured to change the posture of the cleaning liquid nozzle 951 between a first posture and a second posture rotated by an angle θ from the first posture by driving the cleaning liquid nozzle 951. The cleaning liquid Q is ejected from the cleaning liquid nozzle 951 in the first posture to the first position L1. The cleaning liquid Q is ejected from the cleaning liquid nozzle 951 in the second posture to the second position L2. Driving of the cleaning liquid nozzle 951 by the nozzle driving part 96 is controlled by the ejection destination switching controller 14.
According to the first modification, the cleaning liquid supply mechanism 9 includes the cleaning liquid nozzle 951 ejecting the cleaning liquid Q, and the nozzle driving part 96 (posture changer) that changes the posture of the cleaning liquid nozzle 951 between the first posture and the second posture. The cleaning liquid nozzle 951 at the first posture ejects the cleaning liquid Q going toward the first position L1. The cleaning liquid nozzle 951 at the second posture ejects the cleaning liquid Q going toward the second position L2. The nozzle driving part 96 locates the cleaning liquid nozzle 951 in the first posture to eject the cleaning liquid Q from the cleaning liquid nozzle 951 to the first position L1. The nozzle driving part 96 locates the cleaning liquid nozzle 951 in the second posture to eject the cleaning liquid Q from the cleaning liquid nozzle 951 to the second position L2. In this configuration, the nozzle driving part 96 switches the posture of the cleaning liquid nozzle 951 ejecting the cleaning liquid Q between the first posture and the second posture, thereby allowing the clean cleaning liquid Q to be supplied to each of the cap 53 and the cleaning roller 81.
The pump controller 13 causes the liquid feed pump 924 to change the flow rate of the cleaning liquid Q to be ejected from the cleaning liquid nozzle 951 between a first flow rate and a second flow rate. The cleaning liquid Q ejected from the cleaning liquid nozzle 951 at the first flow rate reaches the first position L1. The cleaning liquid Q ejected from the cleaning liquid nozzle 951 at the second flow rate reaches the second position L2.
According to the second modification, the cleaning liquid supply mechanism 9 includes the cleaning liquid nozzle 951 ejecting the cleaning liquid Q, and the liquid feed pump 924 (flow rate changer) that changes the flow rate of the cleaning liquid Q to be ejected from the cleaning liquid nozzle 951 between the first flow rate and the second flow rate. The cleaning liquid Q ejected from the cleaning liquid nozzle 951 at the first flow rate goes toward the first position L1. The cleaning liquid Q ejected from the cleaning liquid nozzle 951 at the second flow rate goes toward the second position L2. The liquid feed pump 924 eject the cleaning liquid Q from the cleaning nozzle at the first flow rate to eject the cleaning liquid Q from the cleaning liquid nozzle 951 to the first position L1. The liquid feed pump 924 eject the cleaning liquid Q from the cleaning nozzle at the second flow rate to eject the cleaning liquid Q from the cleaning liquid nozzle 951 to the second position L2. In this configuration, the liquid feed pump 924 switches the flow rate of the cleaning liquid Q to be ejected from the cleaning liquid nozzle 951 between the first flow rate and the second flow rate, thereby allowing the clean cleaning liquid Q to be supplied to each of the cap 53 and the cleaning roller 81.
A particular configuration of the cleaning member that cleans the cap 53 can be changed, as appropriate. Specifically, the cleaning roller 81 may be replaced with a brush (liquid retaining member) capable of retaining the cleaning liquid Q ejected from the cleaning liquid ejector 93.
A particular configuration for moving the maintenance part 50 relatively in the X direction relative to the cleaning roller 81 is not limited to that described above. Specifically, instead of driving the maintenance part 50 in the X direction, the cleaning roller 81 may be driven in the X direction. Namely, the cleaning roller 81 and the maintenance part 50 can be moved relative to each other by driving at least one of the cleaning roller 81 and the maintenance part 50.
A relationship between a flow rate at which the cleaning liquid Q is ejected to the first position L1 and a flow rate at which the cleaning liquid Q is ejected to the second position L2 can be determined appropriately. Specifically, thinkable variations are such that the former and the latter are equal to each other, the former is less than the latter, and the former is greater than the latter. In particular, setting a flow rate at which the cleaning liquid Q is ejected to the first position L1 less than a flow rate at which the cleaning liquid Q is ejected to the second position L2 brings the following advantage. The cleaning liquid Q is ejected at a low flow rate to the cleaning roller 81 located at the first position L1. It is possible to suppress amount of consumption of the cleaning liquid Q from increase caused by a situation where a flow rate at which the cleaning liquid Q is ejected to the cleaning roller 81 becomes excessive for a speed at which the cleaning roller 81 absorbs the cleaning liquid Q to make much of the cleaning liquid Q drop without being retained by the cleaning roller 81. Furthermore, as the cleaning liquid Q is ejected at a high flow rate to the cap 53 or the tray 52 at the second position L2, it is possible to supply the cap 53 and the tray 52 promptly with the cleaning liquid Q of a sufficient amount.
The cleaning roller 81 may be configured to move in the Z direction (namely, to move up and down) together with the printing head 30 to be driven by the motor 742. In this configuration, the operation of causing the wiper blade 59 to slide on the cleaning roller 81 in step S113 may be performed by moving the cleaning roller 81 up and down. Alternatively, the wiper blade 59 may be caused to slide on the cleaning roller 81 by moving the wiper blade 59 up and down using the up-down mechanism 58 and also moving the cleaning roller 81 up and down using the motor 742.
The particular configuration of the cleaning liquid supply mechanism 9 can be changed, as appropriate. For example, the cleaning liquid reservoir part 91 may be arranged toward the (+X) direction relative to the printing head 30, not toward the (−X) direction relative to the printing head 30.
Two cleaning liquid nozzles 952 may be provided corresponding to the two caps 53 arranged in the Y direction (
Timing of implementation of each operation performed during the cleaning operation in
The present invention is applicable to every technique of supplying a cleaning liquid to a cap member that performs capping of abutting on a printing head that ejects ink from an ink nozzle while the cap member faces the ink nozzle and to a cleaning member that cleans the cap member by coming into contact with the cap member.
The printer according may further comprises: a driving part that moves the cap member relatively in a predetermined movement direction relative to the cleaning member by driving at least one of the cleaning member and the cap member, wherein the cleaning member to which the cleaning liquid is ejected from the cleaning liquid ejection unit comes into contact with the cap member that is moved relatively in the movement direction by the driving part to clean the cap member. In this configuration, it is possible to clean the cap member by the cleaning member to which the clean cleaning liquid ejected.
The printer may be configured so that the cleaning liquid ejection unit is configured to select a destination of ejection of the cleaning liquid from a first position where the cleaning member is located and a second position different from the first position in the movement direction, the cleaning liquid ejection unit ejects the cleaning liquid to the cleaning member by ejecting the cleaning liquid to the first position, and the cleaning liquid ejection unit ejects the cleaning liquid to the cap member by ejecting the cleaning liquid to the second position while the driving part locates the cap member at the second position. In this configuration, a destination of ejection of the cleaning liquid is switched between the first position where the cleaning member is located and the second position different from the first position in the movement direction, thereby allowing the clean cleaning liquid to be supplied to each of the cap member and the cleaning member.
The printer may be configured so that the cleaning liquid ejection unit includes a liquid feed pipe feeding the cleaning liquid, a solenoid valve connected to the liquid feed pipe, a first cleaning liquid nozzle connected to the solenoid valve, and a second cleaning liquid nozzle connected to the solenoid valve, the first cleaning liquid nozzle faces the first position, the second cleaning liquid nozzle faces the second position, the solenoid valve is configured to perform first flow path connecting operation and second flow path connecting operation selectively, the first flow path connecting operation being operation of feeding the cleaning liquid from the liquid feed pipe to the first cleaning liquid nozzle by forming flow path connection between the liquid feed pipe and the first cleaning liquid nozzle while disconnecting the liquid feed pipe and the second cleaning liquid nozzle from each other, the second flow path connecting operation being operation of feeding the cleaning liquid from the liquid feed pipe to the second cleaning liquid nozzle by forming flow path connection between the liquid feed pipe and the second cleaning liquid nozzle while disconnecting the liquid feed pipe and the first cleaning liquid nozzle from each other, the solenoid valve performs the first flow path connecting operation to eject the cleaning liquid from the first cleaning liquid nozzle to the first position, and the solenoid valve performs the second flow path connecting operation to eject the cleaning liquid from the second cleaning liquid nozzle to the second position. In this configuration, the solenoid valve switches between the first cleaning liquid nozzle and the second cleaning liquid nozzle as a destination of flow path connection to the liquid feed pipe feeding the cleaning liquid, thereby allowing the clean cleaning liquid to be supplied to each of the cap member and the cleaning member.
The printer may be configured so that the cleaning liquid ejection unit includes a cleaning liquid nozzle ejecting the cleaning liquid, and a posture changer that changes the posture of the cleaning liquid nozzle between a first posture in which the cleaning liquid nozzle ejects the cleaning liquid going toward the first position and a second posture in which the cleaning liquid nozzle ejects the cleaning liquid going toward the second position, the posture changer locates the cleaning liquid nozzle in the first posture to eject the cleaning liquid from the cleaning liquid nozzle to the first position, and the posture changer locates the cleaning liquid nozzle in the second posture to eject the cleaning liquid from the cleaning liquid nozzle to the second position. In this configuration, the posture changer switches the posture of the cleaning liquid nozzle ejecting the cleaning liquid between the first posture and the second posture, thereby allowing the clean cleaning liquid to be supplied to each of the cap member and the cleaning member.
The printer may be configured so that the cleaning liquid ejection unit includes a cleaning liquid nozzle ejecting the cleaning liquid, and a flow rate changer that changes the flow rate of the cleaning liquid to be ejected from the cleaning liquid nozzle between a first flow rate at which the cleaning liquid ejected from the cleaning liquid nozzle goes toward the first position and a second flow rate at which the cleaning liquid ejected from the cleaning liquid nozzle goes toward the second position, the flow rate changer makes the cleaning liquid nozzle eject the cleaning liquid at the first flow rate to eject the cleaning liquid from the cleaning liquid nozzle to the first position, and the flow rate changer makes the cleaning liquid nozzle eject the cleaning liquid at the second flow rate to eject the cleaning liquid from the cleaning liquid nozzle to the second position. In this configuration, the flow rate changer switches the flow rate of the cleaning liquid to be ejected from the cleaning liquid nozzle between the first flow rate and the second flow rate, thereby allowing the clean cleaning liquid to be supplied to each of the cap member and the cleaning member.
The printer may be configured so that the cleaning member is a cleaning roller that is driven to rotate by the relative movement of the cap member in the movement direction. In this configuration, it is possible to clean the cap member by the cleaning roller to which the clean cleaning liquid ejected.
The printer may be configured so that the cleaning member includes a liquid retaining member that retains the cleaning liquid by absorbing the cleaning liquid, and the liquid retaining member cleans the cap member by coming into contact with the cap member. In this configuration, it is possible to clean the cap member with the clean cleaning liquid retained by the liquid retaining member.
A particular configuration of the liquid retaining member is assumed in various ways. For example, the liquid retaining member may be a porous member. The porous member may be a sponge.
The printer may be configured so that the cap member includes a reservoir having an opening that opens toward the printing head, and a peripheral part provided around the opening of the reservoir, during implementation of the capping, while the opening of the reservoir faces the ink nozzle, the peripheral part abuts on the printing head, the cleaning member cleans the peripheral part of the cap member by coming into contact with the peripheral part, and the cleaning liquid ejection unit ejects the cleaning liquid to the reservoir of the cap member. In this configuration, it is possible to clean the reservoir of the cap member with the clean cleaning liquid ejected from the cleaning liquid ejection unit to the reservoir and to clean the peripheral part of the cap member with the clean cleaning liquid ejected from the cleaning liquid ejection unit to the cleaning member.
The printer may be configured so that the cap member performs the capping while the cleaning liquid ejected from the cleaning liquid ejection unit is pooled in the reservoir. In this configuration, it is possible to retain moisture at the ink nozzle with the cleaning liquid pooled in the reservoir during the capping.
The printer may be configured so that the cap member receives ink ejected from the ink nozzle of the printing head by the reservoir pooling the cleaning liquid ejected from the cleaning liquid ejection unit. In this configuration, it is possible to suppress the reservoir from contamination caused by ink adhering to a wall surface of the reservoir after ejected from the nozzle.
The printer may further comprises: a wiper that wipes away ink from the printing head; and a wiper slide driving part that causes the wiper to slide on the printing head by driving at least one of the wiper and the printing head, wherein the cleaning liquid ejection unit ejects the cleaning liquid to the cleaning member while the wiper slide driving part causes the wiper to contact the cleaning member, and the cleaning liquid ejected to the cleaning member reaches the wiper through the cleaning member. In this configuration, it is possible to supply the cleaning liquid to the wiper and clean the wiper.
The printer may further comprises: a tray including a bottom surface on which the cap member is arranged, wherein while the driving part locates the bottom surface of the tray at the second position, the cleaning liquid ejection unit ejects the cleaning liquid to the second position to eject the cleaning liquid to the bottom surface of the tray. In this configuration, it is possible to supply the clean cleaning liquid to the bottom surface of the tray.
Although the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments, this description is not meant to be construed in a limiting sense. Various modifications of the disclosed embodiment, as well as other embodiments of the present invention, will become apparent to persons skilled in the art upon reference to the description of the invention. It is therefore contemplated that the appended claims will cover any such modifications or embodiments as fall within the true scope of the invention.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-151247 | Sep 2022 | JP | national |
